Project UNTANGLED (2021-2024) set out to examine the impact of globalisation, technological transformation and demographic change on labour markets in the European Union, and to recommend policies that would contribute to shared prosperity. In this interdisciplinary project, we worked to untangle the trends, measure their impact and identify which groups are at risk.

Overall, we found that European labour markets have held up well over the past 20 years, though certain demographic groups have done better than others.

Investments in digitalisation have not destroyed jobs in Europe and have even had a slightly positive effect on labour demand. The effect of automation varies by country, sector and type of worker.

In the most developed Western European countries, automation has a negligible effect on employment, but in Central and Eastern Europe, robots boosted labour demand.

We found no unambiguous effect of technology or ageing on working conditions, although men with low educational attainment in routine jobs were a significant exception to the overall positive trend.

We also found that Europe’s social safety nets are helping prevent the deepening of household inequality. When workers lose their jobs due to automation, inequality at the individual level rises, but various types of benefits and safety nets prevent an increase at the household level.

Our research suggests that globalisation did not significantly impact total employment, though it may have shifted relative demand towards craft and skilled workers.

Based on our results, we developed recommendations for policies that will help the people of Europe to reap the benefits of the three megatrends and cushion their negative impacts, promoting fairness and prosperity across the continent. Visit our Research Output Section.